After Brendol Hux's death, the stormtrooper training program was overseen by his son, General Armitage Hux, and CaptainPhasma—both of whom served in the First Order's commanding triumvirate with Kylo Ren, the dark apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke. By promoting ruthlessness and improvisation on the battlefield, Phasma endeavored to turn her trainees into the finest soldiers in galactichistory. As a result of her methods, First Order stormtroopers were considered more dangerous than their Imperial precursors.

Despite Armitage Hux's confidence in the loyalty and reliability of his troops, a stormtrooper deserted the Corps in the waning days of the cold war. Having witnessed his comrades massacre an entire village on the desertworld of Jakku, FN-2187 renounced the First Order before ultimately defecting to the Resistance. Aided by the renegade stormtrooper, Resistance forces succeeded in destroying the First Order's superweapon, Starkiller Base. FN-2187's defection led to a disagreement between Hux and Ren, the latter using the rogue trooper's treason as grounds to question the loyalty of all stormtroopers. Furthermore, Ren considered the possibility of replacing the general's soldiers with a clone army, a notion that Hux opposed.

With Snoke's death, Ren succeeded his Master as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order. At Ren's command, the First Order deployed an army of variant stormtrooper units, known as snowtroopers, to the remote world of Crait where the last of the Resistance took refuge after the destruction of their fleet. Although the First Order was victorious at the Battle of Crait, a small group of survivors escaped from Ren and his stormtroopers with the help of the aspirant Jedi Rey.

"What's wrong with people? Can't they see the First Order are the bad guys?""Bad guys? They saved Torra from pirate kidnappers. We need better security here!""These guys aren't security. They're stormtroopers, and stormtroopers are only for one thing: War."

As a result, a new generation of stormtroopers was born through the training and indoctrination of child conscripts.[12] Unlike soldiers of the Empire, First Order stormtroopers began their training at birth, much like the Republic clone troopers or Jedi Knights who preceded them. The new stormtroopers were taken from their parents and raised to be absolutely loyal to the First Order.[1] By 34 ABY,[15] approximately thirty years after[2] the Empire's defeat at Endor,[18] the stormtrooper legions were under the command of CaptainPhasma[26] as well as other notable leaders such as GeneralArmitage Hux and Kylo Ren.[2] Above all, their allegiance was with Supreme LeaderSnoke,[8] ruler of the First Order.[23]

Prior to the new galactic conflict, a cold war was fought between First Order stormtroopers and Resistance soldiers.

During the cold war, the First Order was opposed by the Resistance[2]—a private military group founded and led by the Rebel hero Leia Organa, the Resistance fought to prevent the First Order from restoring Imperial rule to the galaxy.[27] In addition to the First Order's goals, which included the destruction of the New Republic and the Resistance, they also supported Kylo Ren's quest to destroy the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker. To that end, Phasma and an armed force of stormtroopers conducted an assault on Tuanul, a village located on the planetJakku where Ren hoped to gain information pertaining to Skywalker's hidden location. After executing the village leader, Lor San Tekka for refusing to cooperate, Ren directed Phasma and the stormtroopers to exterminate the village's entire population. With the exception of FN-2187, every trooper complied with Ren's order, firing into the crowd until the last villager was dead. The experience of witnessing the First Order's brutality and the deaths of his comrades influenced FN-2187's decision to commit desertion by abandoning his life as a stormtrooper.[2]

The massacre of Tuanul was carried out by First Order stormtroopers on the orders of Kylo Ren.

With the completion of the First Order superweapon, Starkiller Base, General Hux declared the end of the New Republic's reign to a large assembly of stormtroopers and other military personnel. Saluting their general, the stormtroopers witnessed the activation of the superweapon, resulting in the utter destruction of Hosnian Prime along with the Galactic Senate and a substantial portion of the New Republic Defense Fleet. Meanwhile, the hunt for Skywalker led Kylo Ren and an armed force of stormtroopers to the planet Takodana where the dark warrior attempted to capture BB-8, a Resistance astromech droid that contained part of the information regarding the last Jedi's location. The stormtroopers assaulted a castle belonging to Maz Kanata during their search for the BB unit, then pursued BB-8 and Rey into the forest where several troopers were killed before Ren apprehended the scavenger. During the battle, FN-2199 confronted the traitor FN-2187, who now referred to himself as "Finn." After a brief duel FN-2199 defeated Finn in single combat, only to be shot by the smugglerHan Solo. The remaining stormtroopers ultimately withdrew from the battle on Ren's orders, the dark warrior having discovered that Rey already accessed the information he wanted from BB-8.[2]

Appalled by the First Order's methods, FN-2187 deserted the Stormtrooper Corps.

At Starkiller Base, Kylo Ren interrogated Rey in an attempt to get the map out of her, but his efforts were in vain, as Rey resisted him and revealed herself to be Force-sensitive. Ren went to inform his Master, Supreme Leader Snoke, about his discovery and left FN-1824 to keep watch over Rey. After two failed attempts, Rey managed to perform a mind trick on the stormtrooper, forcing him to to free her. When Ren returned and found that Rey had escaped, he angrily called the guards and destroyed the interrogation chair with his lightsaber, prompting two passing stormtroopers to quickly turn and walk away to avoid confrontation.[2]

With the end of the New Republic at hand, General Armitage Hux was saluted by the stormtroopers of the First Order.

Shortly after, the Resistance attacked Starkiller Base, resulting in a large dogfight in the air as the First Order scrambled a defense force to protect the base. On the ground, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Finn, and Rey headed to the oscillator to destroy it, engaging multiple stormtroopers along the way. As Solo and Chewbacca planted the explosives, Ren and a squad of stormtroopers arrived at the oscillator to find them. The stormtroopers aimed their blasters at Solo when he confronted Ren out in the open, hoping to convince his son to abandon the First Order and return home. Ren was shot by Chewbacca after the First Order warlord struck down his father, causing the stormtroopers to open fire on the Wookiee warrior. Despite their efforts, the troopers failed to stop Chewbacca from detonating the explosives, killing the remaining soldiers and damaging the oscillator. As a result, the X-wingpilotPoe Dameron was able to fly in and destroy it. With the oscillator destroyed, Starkiller Base soon collapsed into a star, killing all remaining stormtroopers on the planet.[2]

A contingent of First Order stormtroopers served on board the Supremacy, flagship of Supreme Leader Snoke.

Despite the loss of Starkiller Base, the First Order moved to impose its rule over the galaxy through military force, having removed the New Republic as an obstacle. Simultaneously, the First Order endeavored to destroy the Resistance once and for all, forcing Organa and her followers to abandon their base on D'Qar. Hoping to disrupt the First Order's ability to track the Resistance fleet's movements through hyperspace, Finn and Rose Tico infiltrated the Supremacy—the flagship of Supreme Leader Snoke—but were ultimately captured by Phasma and her stormtroopers. After bringing the prisoners to a hangar containing a large gathering of stormtroopers, Phasma sentenced Finn and Tico both to summary execution. Just as the stormtrooper executioners moved to carry out the death sentence, the Resistance flagship Raddus crashed into the Supremacy at lightspeed. The act served to split the Mega-class Star Dreadnought in half, leaving a huge gap open to space where many crew members and stormtroopers perished.[3]

By then, Snoke had been assassinated by his apprentice, Kylo Ren, who then defeated the slain leader's Elite Praetorian Guards with the help of Rey. Their alliance was short-lived, however. Rey rejected Ren's proposal that they rule the galaxy together, causing the dark side warrior to blame Snoke's death on the former scavenger. Seizing control of the First Order as the new Supreme Leader, his first act in power was to deploy the First Order's forces, including an army of snowtroopers, to the planet Crait where he intended to annihilate the remaining members of the Resistance. During the Battle of Crait, the First Order overwhelmed the Resistance's defenses and stormed the outpost where they hid, although a small group of survivors managed to escape aboard the Millennium Falcon due to Rey's intervention.[3]

"Stormtroopers get some first aid training—battlefield stuff—but not much. We were, pretty, uh, expendable. I think the idea was that whatever trooper who wasn't a good enough soldier to keep from getting wounded deserved to die anyway.""But that's insane.""Welcome to the First Order."

Trained since birth, stormtroopers were raised to serve the First Order with absolute loyalty.

The First Order's stormtrooper training program was designed to produce an army of super-soldiers.[28] As a result, members of the new generation of stormtroopers were trained from birth to become elite soldiers with a single purpose in life—to serve the First Order.[1] This form of training drew inspiration from the ideals of Commandant Brendol Hux, who was inspired by the combat prowess and dedication of the Jedi Knights and Republic clone troopers, both of which were instructed from youth to become efficient combatants.[24] According to Phasma, the ideology of the First Order stormtroopers did not allow for any emotional elements such as sympathy since they were to specifically act as an extension of the Supreme Leader's will, and by extension that of the First Order, alone.[8] Likewise, Finn admitted that First Order stormtroopers had first aid training, although only relating to the battlefield, and even then, it was extremely minimal due to the First Order ideology considering them expendable, that any that weren't good enough to keep from getting wounded deserved to die.[29] During the fall of the Empire, Counselor Gallius Rax conscripted roughly two dozen orphans from his home planet of Jakku and gave them to Hux, who turned them into a force of child soldiers and assassins loyal to Rax. Prior to his death, Rax placed Hux's illegitimate son, Armitage in command of the child soldiers.[19] As an adult, Armitage incorporated his father's ideas into the training program for the First Order stormtroopers.[22]

Conscripted stormtroopers were sent to induction camps and divided into "batches," such as 926 from Batch Eight.

The First Order employed Jinata Security to abduct infants for the stormtrooper program.[12] The First Order processed their conscripts at induction camps where the trainees were separated into groups or "batches." Prior to becoming fully-trained stormtroopers, FN-2187 and trooper 926 were members of Batch Eight.[30] As children, stormtroopers were initially trained under the oversight of Captain Cardinal, a former child soldier who instructed his cadets in hand-to-hand and melee combat, marksmanship, and battle simulations on the Resurgent-class Star DestroyerAbsolution. When deemed ready, Cardinal's trainees were transferred to the Finalizer where they would complete their training under the watch of Captain Phasma.[31] As the commander of the stormtrooper legions, Phasma endeavored to mold the stormtroopers into the finest soldiers in the galaxy and constantly vigilant against any signs of weakness or disobedience.[26] To this end, behavioral and personality conditioning was critical in the training of First Order stormtroopers. In an effort to control their psychological development, the First Order provided its trainees with a steady amount of subliminal sleep messages[31] and First Order propaganda, resulting in the production of soldiers who were completely loyal to the First Order. In addition, rigorous combat exercises and psychological conditioning, the First Order strongly emphasized the values of uniformity and conformity.[1] They were therefore given alphanumeric[2] designations instead of names.[1] As such, their emphasis of uniformity and conformity was strict enough that Stormtroopers weren't allowed to even remove their helmets unless specifically ordered to do so, with the penalty of doing so usually being mandated psychological counseling.[2] A trooper that displayed "erratic conditioning" could be scheduled for a full mental wipe and reprogram, also known as a brainscrape.[7] Likewise, stormtroopers were not allowed to initiate contact with First Order officers.[30]

It was possible to enlist as a stormtrooper and serve the First Order, as propaganda posters for new recruits could be found in different parts of the galaxy, such as on Castilon.[6]

Although modern stormtroopers were modeled largely on the stormtroopers of yesteryear, their combat training differed substantially from that of their Imperial predecessors. Unlike the Empire, which resorted to the use of numbing routine for its troopers,[1] the First Order's training simulations, live-fire exercises, and sparring practices encouraged stormtroopers to embrace improvisation on the battlefield.[8] They were, therefore, more effective in battle than the stormtroopers who served as their template.[1] In addition to combat training, all First Order stormtroopers received medical training in order to treat injuries such as blaster wounds.[32] During training, stormtrooper cadets slapped the rears of other troopers to motivate each other.[33]

The stormtrooper training program was overseen by Captain Phasma.

Despite General Armitage Hux's confidence in the stormtrooper programming, not every trooper was a successful product by the First Order's standards.[2] Although FN-2187 was a capable soldier, he did not possess the same devotion that his comrades felt for the First Order. His lack of zeal for the First Order's cause,[28] combined with his unwillingness to execute unarmed prisoners, led him to doubt his loyalties before ultimately forsaking his allegiance to the First Order. Kylo Ren regarded FN-2187 as a renegade, as well as a prime example of a stormtrooper training program which he viewed as flawed. He theorized that a clone army could serve the First Order in a better capacity. However, Hux remained confident in the collective reliability of the First Order stormtroopers, believing the rogue FN-2187 to be an anomaly in an army of loyal soldiers.[2]

Stormtrooper officers were distinguished from the rank and file by their pauldrons.

Members of the First Order's infantry forces wore white armor that was reminiscent of the Galactic Empire's stormtrooper armor, as well as the Galactic Republic's Phase I and Phase II clone trooper armors. Aside from several aesthetic differences, First Order stormtroopers bore a close resemblance to their Imperial predecessors.[1] To denote rank, stormtrooper officers wore color-coded pauldron armor plates.[2] White pauldrons were worn by stormtroopers who served as squad leaders, black pauldrons identified stormtroopers who held the rank of sergeant, and orange pauldrons were worn by officers.[17]

First Order stormtrooper helmets could filter out smoke, but not toxins.[2] To deal with toxins, a stormtrooper needed to engage one of several special filters, depending on the specific contaminant. Identification was the province of one or two squad leaders.[32][22]

In terms of armor strength, stormtrooper armor was held in high regard. Captain Phasma once claimed that not even a Wookiee was strong enough to break First Order armor.[32] To keep weight down, most First Order stormtrooper helmets lacked advanced imaging gear, requiring stormtroopers to use separate quadnoculars in the field to provide them with enhanced imaging. However, standard stormtrooper helmets were still equipped with integral polarized lenses, night vision, communications and targeting systems.[22]

The flametrooper was a variant of the standard First Order stormtrooper.

In addition to standard units, the Stormtrooper Corps possessed a variety of specialized troopers like the Old Empire before it. Specialist units were trained and equipped to function in various fields. Additionally, they could also be deployed alongside infantry units, supporting regular troopers in an auxiliary capacity.[2]

Executioner Troopers: Stormtroopers randomly selected to carry out sentences of capital punishment. Their armor was marked with black shoulder plates and a black-striped helmet. They wielded the laser ax to carry out their duties.[17]

Riot control stormtroopers: Stormtroopers that were specialist units tasked with enforcing order on worlds within the First Order's domain. Trained in riot-control tactics, they were equipped with betaplastshields and the non-lethal Z6 riot control batons. However, they were also authorized to use lethal weapons in situations where rioters could not be contained with non-lethal equipment. Although their primary function was to serve in the military occupation of planets, riot control stormtroopers could also be dispatched on combat missions with standard infantry troopers.[2][11]

Snowtroopers: Stormtroopers specifically trained and equipped to serve in frigid environments, particularly the ice planet that housed Starkiller Base. Their specialized armor and equipment enabled them to operate effectively in freezing conditions. During the construction of the Starkiller, teams of snowtroopers patrolled the frozen world, exterminating indigenous species that were regarded as potential threats to the First Order.[14] They could also be deployed to a location with a more temperate if it had enough similarities to an actual frigid environment as to require their presence, such as Crait.[17]